Friendster Introduces Virtual Goods, Currencies

Poor, poor Friendster. The site was a pioneer of the multi-billion social networking space, but has since been eclipsed by countless late-comers, including, most notably (and most lucratively), Facebook and Myspace. The site may have fallen out of favor in the US (and much of the world), but Friendster continues to have a few strongholds, such as certain parts of Asia.

Poor, poor Friendster. The site was a pioneer of the social networking space but has since been eclipsed by countless latecomers, including most notably (and lucratively) Facebook and MySpace. Friendster may have fallen out of favor in the U.S. (and much of the world), but it still boasts a few strongholds, such as in certain parts of Asia.

The site continues to roll out new features, most of which have gone largely unnoticed thanks to the overshadowing by the aforementioned competition. The newest Friendster feature is the Facebook-like introduction of virtual goods, payable with "Chips" and "Coins."

Coins can be purchased through PayPal. Chips are earned through advertising offers, according to Inside Social Games. No word on the goods themselves.

Brian Heater has worked at a number of tech pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served as Senior Editor). Most recently, he was as the Managing Editor of TechTimes.com. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Lucy.
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